The Current Newspaper to Fold
By • May 13, 2019 0 1813
It’s the end of the line for the Current Newspapers, Inc., which filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on May 10.
The move to Chapter 7 means liquidation of assets and the end of the more than 50-year-old company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year. Its hearing is set for May 22 at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia.
As reported at inforuptcy.com: “Hearing Scheduled (BK) (RE: related document(s) 61 Motion to Convert Case to Chapter 7) Hearing scheduled for 5/22/2019 at 10:30 AM Courtroom 1. (Mathewes, Aimee) (Entered: 05/10/2019)”
The Current’s former editor and publisher, Davis Kennedy, bought the company in 1994 and expanded its reach but recently encountered the loss of advertising revenue — a problem faced by all newspapers and other print products.
Present at the end for the Current were president and publisher David Ferrara, who moved from California to take over the newspaper — and editorial director Kate Michael, founder of the online K Street Magazine and a former Miss D.C. The newspaper lists its address as 2201 Wisconsin Ave. NW.
The newspaper company began in 1967 as the Potomac Current but changed its name to the Northwest Current — later adding editions for Chevy Chase, Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom and Georgetown. It had hoped to restructure its business. The company’s lawyer is Philip McNutt of Hughes & Bentzen, PLLC, on Connecticut Avenue.
According to records at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia, the Current Newspapers has more than $1.2 million in liabilities and less than $50,000 in assets. The biggest debtor claims include $180,000 by Gannett Company printers and $105,000 by Bartash Printing, Inc., of Philadelphia.
